System and method for locking a charging port to charge an electric vehicle

ABSTRACT

A system and method for locking a charging port to charge an electric vehicle that includes determining that the electric vehicle is located within a predetermined distance of a charging station and determining that the charging station issues parking citations associated with parking of the electric vehicle at the charging station without attachment of the charging port to the electric vehicle. The system and method also include determining charging of the electric vehicle and sending a command to enable a locking mechanism of the charging port to lock the charging port in place. The system and method further include completing user authentication with respect to an operator of the electric vehicle to disable the locking mechanism to ensure that the charging port is not detached by an unauthorized individual and that parking citations are not issued based on the parking of the electric vehicle at the charging station.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED DISCLOSURE

This disclosure is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S.application Ser. No. 17/074,858 filed on Oct. 20, 2020 and is nowpublished as U.S. Publication No. 2022/0122394 which is expresslyincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Electric vehicles may contain electric storage mechanisms (e.g.,electric engines powered by rechargeable batteries) to store electricityand power the electric vehicles. The electric storage mechanisms may bereplenished periodically by using, for example, charging equipmentinstalled at a residential home or charging equipment installed atpublic charging stations. Based on a demand of consumers to charge theirrespective electric vehicles at the charging stations, at one or morepoints in time, there may be a queue of electric vehicles that may bewaiting to be charged. To avoid having charging bays that includeunutilized charging ports, some charging stations have implementedcitations that may be issued to owners/operator of electric vehiclesthat are parked at the respective charging bays without activeutilization of the charging port to charge the respective electricvehicles.

In some circumstances, as electric vehicles are being actively charged,a user may remove the charging port from an actively charging electricvehicle to attach to another electric vehicle. In such cases, chargingstations that implement citations may issue a citation to the electricvehicle for which the charging port was removed. This may causeunnecessary and unjust issuance of citations through no fault of theowner/operator of the electric vehicle from which the charging port wasremoved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

According to one aspect, a computer-implemented method for locking acharging port to charge an electric vehicle is provided. The method mayinclude determining that the electric vehicle is located within apredetermined distance of a charging station and determining that thecharging station issues parking citations associated with parking of theelectric vehicle at the charging station without attachment of thecharging port to the electric vehicle. The computer-implemented methodmay also determine charging of the electric vehicle and sending acommand to an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) of the chargingstation to enable a locking mechanism of the charging port to lock thecharging port in place to ensure continued attachment of the chargingport to the electric vehicle. The computer-implemented method mayfurther include completing user authentication with respect to anoperator of the electric vehicle to disable the locking mechanism andallow detachment of the charging port from the electric vehicle toensure that the charging port is not detached by an unauthorizedindividual and that parking citations are not issued to the operator ofthe electric vehicle by the charging station.

According to another aspect, a system for locking a charging port tocharge an electric vehicle that includes a memory storing instructionsis provided. The instructions when executed by a processor may cause theprocessor to determine that the electric vehicle is located within apredetermined distance of a charging station and determine that thecharging station issues parking citations associated with parking of theelectric vehicle at the charging station without attachment of thecharging port to the electric vehicle. The instructions may also causethe processor to determine charging of the electric vehicle and send acommand to an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) of the chargingstation to enable a locking mechanism of the charging port to lock thecharging port in place to ensure continued attachment of the chargingport to the electric vehicle. The instructions may further cause theprocessor to complete user authentication with respect to an operator ofthe electric vehicle to disable the locking mechanism and allowdetachment of the charging port from the electric vehicle to ensure thatthe charging port is not detached by an unauthorized individual and thatparking citations are not issued to the operator of the electric vehicleby the charging station.

According to yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium storing instructions is provided. The instructions, whenexecuted by a computer, which includes a processor, may perform a methodthat includes determining that the electric vehicle is located within apredetermined distance of a charging station and determining that thecharging station issues parking citations associated with parking of theelectric vehicle at the charging station without attachment of acharging port to the electric vehicle. The method may also includedetermining charging of the electric vehicle and sending a command to anelectric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) of the charging station toenable a locking mechanism of the charging port to lock the chargingport in place to ensure continued attachment of the charging port to theelectric vehicle. The method may further include completing userauthentication with respect to an operator of the electric vehicle todisable the locking mechanism and allow detachment of the charging portfrom the electric vehicle to ensure that the charging port is notdetached by an unauthorized individual and that parking citations arenot issued to the operator of the electric vehicle by the chargingstation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed to be characteristic of the disclosure areset forth in the appended claims. In the descriptions that follow, likeparts are marked throughout the specification and drawings with the samenumerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily drawn toscale and certain figures can be shown in exaggerated or generalizedform in the interest of clarity and conciseness. The disclosure itself,however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects andadvances thereof, will be best understood by reference to the followingdetailed description of illustrative embodiments when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a high-level schematic view of an illustrative system forlocking a charging port to charge an electric vehicle (EV) according toan exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary charging port that isconnected to a charging link that connects from an electric vehiclesupply equipment (EVSE) to a charging inlet of the EV according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an illustrative electric vehiclearchitecture according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an illustrative remote server architectureaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a plurality of modules of a smart lockapplication that may execute computer-implemented instructions forlocking the charging port to charge the EV according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram of a method for locking and unlockingthe charging port from the charging inlet of the EV according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram of a method for locking the chargingport to charge the EV according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following includes definitions of selected terms employed herein.The definitions include various examples and/or forms of components thatfall within the scope of a term and that may be used for implementation.The examples are not intended to be limiting.

A “bus”, as used herein, refers to an interconnected architecture thatis operably connected to other computer components inside a computer orbetween computers. The bus may transfer data between the computercomponents. The bus may be a memory bus, a memory controller, aperipheral bus, an external bus, a crossbar switch, and/or a local bus,among others. The bus may also be a vehicle bus that interconnectscomponents inside a vehicle using protocols such as Controller Areanetwork (CAN), Local Interconnect Network (LIN), among others.

“Computer communication”, as used herein, refers to a communicationbetween two or more computing devices (e.g., computer, personal digitalassistant, cellular telephone, network device) and may be, for example,a network transfer, a file transfer, an applet transfer, an email, ahypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) transfer, and so on. A computercommunication may occur across, for example, a wireless system (e.g.,IEEE 802.11), an Ethernet system (e.g., IEEE 802.3), a token ring system(e.g., IEEE 802.5), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN), a point-to-point system, a circuit switching system, a packetswitching system, among others.

A “computer-readable medium”, as used herein, refers to a medium thatprovides signals, instructions and/or data. A computer-readable mediummay take forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media andvolatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical ormagnetic disks, and so on. Volatile media may include, for example,semiconductor memories, dynamic memory, and so on. Common forms of acomputer-readable medium include, but are not limited to, a floppy disk,a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, other magnetic medium,other optical medium, a RAM (random access memory), a ROM (read onlymemory), and other media from which a computer, a processor or otherelectronic device may read.

A “data store”, as used herein can be, for example, a magnetic diskdrive, a solid state disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a tape drive, aZip drive, a flash memory card, and/or a memory stick. Furthermore, thedisk can be a CD-ROM (compact disk ROM), a CD recordable drive (CD-Rdrive), a CD rewritable drive (CD-RW drive), and/or a digital video ROMdrive (DVD ROM). The disk can store an operating system that controls orallocates resources of a computing device. The data store can also referto a database, for example, a table, a set of tables, a set of datastores (e.g., a disk, a memory, a table, a file, a list, a queue, aheap, a register) and methods for accessing and/or manipulating thosedata in those tables and data stores. The data store can reside in onelogical and/or physical entity and/or may be distributed between two ormore logical and/or physical entities.

A “memory”, as used herein can include volatile memory and/ornon-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include, for example, ROM(read only memory), PROM (programmable read only memory), EPROM(erasable PROM), and EEPROM (electrically erasable PROM). Volatilememory can include, for example, RAM (random access memory), synchronousRAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double datarate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DRRAM). The memory canstore an operating system that controls or allocates resources of acomputing device.

An “operable connection”, or a connection by which entities are“operably connected”, is one in which signals, physical communications,and/or logical communications can be sent and/or received. An operableconnection can include a physical interface, a data interface and/or anelectrical interface.

A “processor”, as used herein, processes signals and performs generalcomputing and arithmetic functions. Signals processed by the processorcan include digital signals, data signals, computer instructions,processor instructions, messages, a bit, a bit stream, or other meansthat may be received, transmitted and/or detected. Generally, theprocessor may be a variety of various processors including multiplesingle and multicore processors and co-processors and other multiplesingle and multicore processor and co-processor architectures. Theprocessor may include various modules to execute various functions.

A “portable device”, as used herein, is a computing device typicallyhaving a display screen with user input (e.g., touch, keyboard) and aprocessor for computing. Portable devices include, but are not limitedto, key fobs, handheld devices, mobile devices, smart phones, laptops,tablets and e-readers.

An “electric vehicle” (EV), as used herein, refers to any moving vehiclethat is capable of carrying one or more human occupants and is poweredentirely or partially by one or more electric motors powered by anelectric battery. The EV may include battery electric vehicles (BEVs),plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and extended range electricvehicles (EREVs). The term “vehicle” includes, but is not limited to:cars, trucks, vans, minivans, SUVs, motorcycles, scooters, boats,personal watercraft, and aircraft.

A “value” and “level”, as used herein may include, but is not limitedto, a numerical or other kind of value or level such as a percentage, anon-numerical value, a discrete state, a discrete value, a continuousvalue, among others. The term “value of X” or “level of X” as usedthroughout this detailed description and in the claims refers to anynumerical or other kind of value for distinguishing between two or morestates of X. For example, in some cases, the value or level of X may begiven as a percentage between 0% and 100%. In other cases, the value orlevel of X could be a value in the range between 1 and 10. In stillother cases, the value or level of X may not be a numerical value, butcould be associated with a given discrete state, such as “not X”,“slightly x”, “x”, “very x” and “extremely x”.

I. System Overview:

Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for purposes ofillustrating one or more exemplary embodiments and not for purposes oflimiting the same, FIG. 1 is a high-level schematic view of anillustrative system 100 for locking a charging port to charge anelectric vehicle (EV) 102 according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The components of the system 100, as well as thecomponents of other systems and architectures discussed herein, may becombined, omitted or organized into different architectures for variousembodiments.

In an exemplary embodiment, the EV 102 is powered by an electric motor104 and an electric storage mechanism, for example, a battery 106. Inone embodiment, the EV 102 is purely electric in that it only has theelectric motor 104. Multiple electric motors may exist within the EV102. In other embodiments, the EV 102 may have the electric motor 104and an internal combustion engine (not shown). In some embodiments, theEV 102 may have any number of electric motors, batteries, and/orinternal combustion engines and they may operate in series (e.g., as inan extended range electric vehicle), in parallel, or some combination ofseries and parallel operation.

The EV 102 may be operably connected for computer communication to aremote server 108 via a wireless communication network 110. The EV 102may transmit and receive data (e.g., location data, state of chargedata, charging commands/signals, real-time charging status) to and fromthe remote server 108, and vice versa, through the network 110. Theremote server 108 may be a remote computing system or an electronicdevice that is remotely located (e.g., off-board) from the EV 102. Thesystem architectures of the EV 102 and the remote server 108 will bediscussed in more detail herein with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the system 100 may include one ormore charging stations 112. Each of the one or more charging stations112 may include one or more charging bays (not shown) (e.g., coveredparking bay, designated parking location) at which the EV 102 may beparked to utilize an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) 114 tocharge the EV 102 as the EV 102 is parked within the charging bay.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary charging port 202 that is connected to acharging link 208 that connects from the EVSE 114 to a charging inlet204 of the EV 102 to provide electric power to replenish the battery 106of the EV 102 with charging power. In one configuration, the chargingport 202 may include a locking mechanism 206 that may be selectivelyenabled to securely lock the charging port 202 into place to avoiddecoupling between the charging port 202 and the charging inlet 204 ofthe EV 102. The locking mechanism 206 may also be selectively disabledto unlock the charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204 of the EV102.

In an exemplary embodiment, the system 100 may include a smart lockcharge application 116 (smart lock application) that may be executed toprovide computer-implemented instructions for locking the charging port202 to the EV 102 through the charging inlet 204 to charge the electricvehicle 102 and/or one or more additional electric vehicles 120. Thesmart lock application 116 and its specific functionality will bediscussed in more detail through this disclosure.

In one configuration, the charging port 202 and/or the EVSE 114 mayinclude a user input keypad 210 (e.g., keypad and display) that allowsan owner/operator of the EV 102 to input user credentials (e.g., a userinput name/pin/password) that may be utilized by the smart lockapplication 116 to authenticate the owner/operator as an authorized userthat is authorized to attach and remove the charging port 202 to andfrom the EV 102. In one embodiment, upon determining that the chargingport 202 is attached to the EV 102 and/or upon receiving a user input ofthe user credentials, the smart lock application 116 may be configuredto enable the locking mechanism 206 to securely lock the charging port202 within the charging inlet 204, thereby locking the charging port 202to the EV 102. Additionally, the smart lock application 116 may beconfigured to disable the locking mechanism 206 to unlock the chargingport 202 from the charging inlet 204, thereby unlocking the chargingport 202 from the EV 102 to allow decoupling of the charging port 202from the EV 102.

The disablement of the locking mechanism 206 to unlock the charging port202 may be based on receiving user authentication of the owner/operatorof the EV 102 as the individual who is attempting to remove the chargingport 202 from the charging inlet 204 of the EV 102. In one embodiment,the disablement of the locking mechanism 206 may be based on receivinguser credentials through the user input keypad 210 that may be utilizedby the smart lock application 116 to authenticate the owner/operator asthe authorized user that is authorized to attach and remove the chargingport 202 to and from the EV 102. In some circumstances, thisfunctionality may prohibit unauthorized individuals (e.g.,owners/operators of other electric vehicles) from removing the chargingport from the EV 102 or additional electric vehicle 120 utilizing theEVSE 114.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the EVSE 114 may be configured to include acamera 122. The camera 122 may be configured to capture images of anowner/operator of the EV 102 (and/or one or more additional electricvehicles 120) as they begin to utilize the EVSE 114 and attach thecharging port 202 to the EV 102. In particular, the owner/operator ofthe EV 102 may be prompted (e.g., through a display screen of the EVSE114, a portable device, shown in FIG. 3, and/or through the chargingport 202) to allow the camera 122 to capture a facial image of theowner/operator in order to recognize the owner/operator as an authorizeduser that is authorized to attach and remove the charging port 202 toand from the EV 102.

As discussed below, upon capturing a facial image of the owner/operator,the EVSE 114 may be configured to enable the locking mechanism 206 tosecurely lock the charging port 202 to the EV 102. Additionally, if anindividual chooses to remove the charging port 202 from the EV 102, thesmart lock application 116 may be configured to determine the attemptedremoval of the charging port 202 and may prompt the individual tocapture a second facial image of the individual in order to recognize ifthe individual is the owner/operator. In other words, during removal ofthe charging port 202, a facial image of the individual may be capturedand analyzed to determine if the individual is the previously capturedauthorized user (previously captured in a facial image during attachmentof the charging port 202) that is authorized to attach and remove thecharging port 202 to and from the EV 102.

In one embodiment, upon capturing the second facial image, the smartlock application 116 may be configured to compare image data from thefirst facial image with the second facial image using facial recognitionlogic to authenticate the owner/operator as an authorized user that isauthorized to attach and remove the charging port 202 to and from the EV102. Upon authentication of the owner/operator, the smart lockapplication 116 may be configured to disable the locking mechanism 206to unlock the charging port 202 from the EV 102 or an additionalelectric vehicle 120 that is utilizing the EVSE 114. This functionalitymay additionally prohibit unauthorized individuals from removing thecharging port 202 from the EV 102 or an additional electric vehicle 120from utilizing the EVSE 114 during a charging session of the EV 102.

In additional configurations, the EVSE 114 may utilize additionalinformation to authenticate an owner/operator of the EV 102 as anauthorized user that is authorized to attach and remove the chargingport 202 to and from the EV 102. For example, credit card information(e.g., that may be scanned by a scanner of the EVSE 114), driver'slicense information, automobile club information, charging stationmembership information, and the like may be utilized to authenticate theowner/operator prior to enablement and/or disablement of the lockingmechanism 206. This functionality may also prohibit unauthorizedindividuals from removing the charging port from the EV 102 as itutilizes the EVSE 114 during a charging session of the EV 102.

With continued reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the charging station(s)112 may be operably connected for computer communication with the EV 102and/or the remote server 108, for example, to transmit and receive data(e.g., charge parameters, charging data and feedback, vehicle systemdata) to and from the EV 102 and/or the remote server 108. In oneembodiment, the EV 102, the charging station(s) 112, the EVSE 114,and/or the charging port 202 may be operably controlled to initiate orterminate charging of the EV 102 from the charging station(s) 112 basedon initiation by the authorized user (e.g., owner/operator) of the EV102.

In one embodiment, the charging station(s) 112 may include a chargingstation identification designation (e.g., identification number, serialnumber, alpha-numeric code, station name) that may be used to identifyparticular charging stations 112. The charging station(s) 112 mayreplenish the battery 106 using a charging energy source type thatindicates the type of energy the charging station(s) 112 provides.Energy may include clean renewable energy and non-renewable energy.Clean renewable energy may include, solar energy, hydro energy, biomassenergy, wind energy, among others. Non-renewable energy may includeelectricity from a grid source, and in the case of hybrid vehicles,fossil fuels.

In an exemplary embodiment, some of the one or more charging stations112 may institute measures in order to minimize wait times and/or queuelengths in order to facilitate electric vehicle charging of multipleelectric vehicles (e.g., the EV 102 and one or more additional electricvehicles 120) through the EVSE 114. In one configuration, one of themeasures that may be instituted by the charging station(s) 112 mayinclude the allocation of parking citations that may be provided toowners/operators of electric vehicles that may be parked at a chargingbay without an active connection between the charging port 202 of theEVSE 114 and their respective electric vehicle. Stated differently, theparking citations may be allocated to owners/operators of electricvehicles that park or continue to park at a charging bay of a particularcharging station 112 without utilizing the EVSE 114 to actively chargetheir respective electric vehicles through the charging port 202.

The parking citations may each include a citation fee that may beaccessed to the owners/operators of electric vehicles that are occupyingcharging bays without utilizing the charging port 202 to actively chargerespective electric vehicle batteries. The citation fee may include, butmay not be limited to a monetary fine, a surcharge, a time-based fee,and/or a penalty that may be associated with future queue placement atthe particular charging station 112 that may be accessed to theowners/operators of electric vehicles that are occupying charging bayswithout utilizing the charging port 202. For example, if the EV 102 isoccupying the charging bay after removal of the charging port 202 fromthe charging inlet 204, the EV 102 is no longer being actively chargedand may be preventing one or more additional electric vehicles 120 fromutilizing the charging bay to park near the EVSE 114 to charge theirrespective batteries. Accordingly, if the EV 102 is located at acharging station 112 that institutes parking citations, theowner/operator of the EV 102 may be issued a parking citation from thecharging station 112.

In an exemplary embodiment, the EV 102, the charging station(s) 112, theadditional electric vehicles 120, and/or the remote server 108 mayreceive and transmit data through the network 110 to a charging stationcomputing infrastructure 118 (station computing infrastructure). Thestation computing infrastructure 118 may include one or more computingdevices (not shown) that may communicate with one or more chargingstation business entities (e.g., charging station corporate owner) thatmay include utility providers, fuel providers, and/or entities that ownand/or operate one or more various types of charging stations, fuelstations, energy stations, and the like. The charging station businessentities may manage the parking citations and the collection of finesassociated with parking citations that may be assigned to one or moreelectric vehicles. In one configuration, the station computinginfrastructure 118 may communicate data associated with the issuance ofone or more types of parking citations that may be implemented by one ormore charging station business entities at one or more particularcharging stations 112 to the smart lock application 116 through datatransmission via the network 110.

In one or more embodiments, the smart lock application 116 may provide ameans to detect and inform the owner/operator of the EV 102 about one ormore charging stations 112 that may be located within a predetermineddistance of the EV 102 that may issue parking citations. In oneconfiguration, the smart lock application 116 may be configured todetermine that the EV 102 is located within a predetermined distance ofa particular charging station 112. The smart lock application 116 may beconfigured to determine if the charging station issues parking citationsassociated with parking of the EV 102 at the charging station 112without actively charging the EV 102. If the smart lock application 116determines that the charging port 202 of the EVSE 114 at the particularcharging station 112 that issues parking citations is connected to theEV 102 to actively charge the EV 102, the application 116 may beconfigured to send a command to the EVSE 114 to enable the lockingmechanism of the charging port 202 to avoid the parking citations. Thisfunctionary may ensure that only an authenticated user (e.g.,authenticated by user credentials, facial image, payment information,driver license information, etc.) is able to unlock and remove thecharging port 202 from the EV 102. In other words, the smart lockapplication 116 may send a command to the EVSE 114 to disable thelocking mechanism 206 to unlock the charging port 202 from the charginginlet 204 of the EV 102 upon authenticating the owner/driver of the EV102 to allow decoupling of the charging port 202 from the charging inlet204.

Accordingly, the smart lock application 116 may ensure that the chargingport 202 is securely locked into place to avoid decoupling from thecharging inlet 204 of the EV 102 to avoid the risk of the EV 102 beingissued a parking citation. The smart lock application 116 may ensurethat the charging port 202 remains locked into place based on thecontinued enablement of the locking mechanism 206 even after charging ofthe EV 102 may be completed to avoid the risk of the EV 102 being issueda parking citation. The smart lock application 116 may thereby ensurethat user authentication is utilized to authenticate the owner/operatorof the EV 102 to disable the locking mechanism 206 to unlock and allowremoval of the charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204 of the EV102. This functionality may ensure that the owner/operator of the EV 102is not issued parking citations based on the removal of the chargingport 202 from the EV 102 by unauthorized individuals. Stateddifferently, this functionality may ensure that the EV 102 is not parkedat the charging bay of the charging station 112 without being activelycharged by the EVSE 114 based on the removal of the charging port 202from the charging inlet 204 by an unauthorized individual, therebyavoiding parking citations to be issued to the owner/operator of the EV102 by the charging station 112.

As discussed below, the smart lock application 116 may additionally beconfigured to present a notification alert to the owner/operator of theEV 102 upon determining that an authorized user is attempting to removethe charging port 202 from the EV 102 (as its locked and/or unlocked).In particular, the smart lock application 116 may be configured toprovide one or more user interfaces to the owner/operator of the EV 102that may provide the notification alert. Accordingly, if theowner/operator is not located near the EV 102 (e.g., in a visibledistance to the EV 102), they may be alerted of the unauthorized attemptto remove the charging port 202 from the EV 102 and may thereby inspectthe charging status of the EV 102.

In additional embodiments, the smart lock application 116 may beconfigured to provide one or more user interfaces to the owner/operatorof the EV 102 to enable the owner/operator to create a user profile. Theuser profile may include, but may not be limited to, user information(e.g., name/address/phone) associated with the owner/operator, usercredentials that may be inputted through the user interface(s) to beutilized to authenticate the owner/operator as an authenticated user,payment information, driver's license information, automobile clubinformation, charging station membership information, and the like thatmay be utilized to determine that an authorized user is both attachingand removing the charging port 202 to and from the EV 102. The userprofile may be stored at the EV 102 and may be accessed to authenticatethe owner/operator of the EV 102 as an authenticated user.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a schematic view of an illustrative electricvehicle architecture 300, for example the EV 102 of FIG. 1, is shownaccording to an exemplary embodiment. In particular, the EV 102 mayinclude a vehicle computing device 302 (e.g., a telematics unit, anelectronic control unit) with provisions for processing, communicatingand interacting with various components of the EV 102 and othercomponents of the system 100. The vehicle computing device 302 mayinclude a processor 304, a memory 306, a data store 308, a positiondetermination device 310 (GPS), a camera system 312, and a communicationinterface 314. The components of the architecture 300, including thevehicle computing device 302, may be operably connected for computercommunication via a bus 316 (e.g., a Controller Area Network (CAN) or aLocal Interconnect Network (LIN) protocol bus) and/or other wired andwireless technologies. The vehicle computing device 302 as well as theEV 102 may include other components and systems not shown.

The data store 308 may store application data that may also include datapertaining to the smart lock application 116. In one embodiment, thedata store 308 of the EV 102 may include a user data log 324 that maystore the user profile associated with the owner/operator of the EV 102.In some configurations, the user profile stored upon the data store 308of the vehicle computing device 302 may be accessed by the smart lockapplication 116 to authenticate the owner/operator of the EV 102 as anauthenticated user.

In some configurations, the data store 308 may additionally storecitation data that may be associated with one or more parking citationsthat may have been (previously) issued by one or more particularcharging stations 112. The citation data may include each particularparking citation number, the particular charging station 112 andcharging bay where the owner/operator of the EV 102 was issued theparking citation, the particular fine associated with the parkingcitation, and the like may be updated upon the user data log 324 duringeach parking citation issuance. In some embodiments, the smart lockapplication 116 may be configured to evaluate the user data log 324 todetermine if a particular charging station 112 that may be utilized bythe EV 102 issues parking citations to electric vehicles that are notattached to a respective charging port 202 of an EVSE 114.

In one embodiment, the camera system 312 of the EV 102 may include oneor more of the cameras (not shown) that may be positioned in one or moredirections to capture images of one or more areas of a roadway and oneor more environments in which the EV 102 is traveling. For example, theone or more cameras may be configured to capture images of one or moreportions of the charging station(s) 112, and specifically, the chargingbay and/or the EVSE 114 that is located within a predetermined distanceof the EV 102. In one embodiment, upon determining that the EV 102 islocated at a particular charging station 112, the smart lock application116 may be configured to communicate with the camera system 312 toreceive image data associated with one or more portions of the chargingstation 112.

In an exemplary embodiment, upon receipt of the image data, the smartlock application 116 may be configured to execute image logic todetermine if any signage is captured that may indicate that theparticular charging station 112 may access a parking citation forvehicles that are parked without active connection to EVSE 114.Accordingly, if the charging station(s) 112 include any signage thatindicates that parking citations may be accessed to vehicles that arenot attached to the charging port 202 of a respective EVSE 114, thesmart lock application 116 may be configured to analyze image dataassociated with image(s) of the signage at the charging station(s) 112to determine that the charging station(s) 112 issues parking citationsassociated with parking at the charging station(s) 112 without an activeconnection between the charging port 202 and the EV 102.

In one or more embodiments, the communication interface 314 of the EV102 may provide software, firmware and/or hardware to facilitate datainput and output between the components of the vehicle computing device302 and other components, networks and data sources. Further, thecommunication interface 214 may facilitate communication with a display318 (e.g., a head unit, a display stack, a heads-up display) in the EV102 and other input/output devices 320, for example, a portable device322 (e.g., key fob, smart phone) connected to the EV 102.

In some embodiments the portable device 322 may include some or all ofthe components and functionality of the vehicle computing device 302.Additionally, the communication interface 314 may facilitatecommunication between the EV 102 and the portable device 322 that mayinclude a display and/or input/output devices (not shown) be used tooperate various functions of the EV 102. In one embodiment, the display318 of the EV 102 and/or the portable device 322 (e.g., through adisplay screen of the portable device 322) may be utilized to provideone or more user interfaces that may be included as a human machineinterface(s) of the smart lock application 116.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a schematic view of an illustrative remoteserver architecture 400, for example the remote server 108 of FIG. 1, isshown according to an exemplary embodiment. The remote server 108, islocated remotely (i.e., off-board) from the EV 102 (as shown in FIG. 1).In some embodiments, the remote server 108 may be maintained by acharging station entity, an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) (e.g.,of the EV 102), a utility provider, a regulatory body, among others. Inadditional embodiments, the remote server 108 may be another type ofremote device or supported by a cloud architecture. In FIG. 4, theremote server 108 may include a computing device 402 that may furtherinclude a processor 404, a memory 406, a data store 408 and acommunication interface 410. The components of the architecture 400,including the computing device 402, may be operably connected forcomputer communication via a bus 412 and/or other wired and wirelesstechnologies. The computing device 402 as well as the remote server 108may include other components and systems not shown.

The data store 408 may store application data that may also include datapertaining to the smart lock application 116. In one configuration, thedata store 408 may store a station database 414 that may includerespective records of charging stations 112 that may be owned and/oroperated by one or more charging station entities. The station database414 may include records that each pertain to particular chargingstations 112 that include data that may be pre-updated and/or updated inreal-time by one or more charging station entities. In oneconfiguration, the station database 414 may include records that maypertain to particular charging stations 112 and their respectivegeo-locations (GPS/DGPS coordinates of the charging station(s) 112).Additionally, each of the records of the station database 414 thatpertain to particular charging stations 112 may include charging stationidentification designations that are associated with the respectivecharging stations 112.

The station database 414 may also include records that may pertain toparking citations that may be accessed by each particular chargingstation 112. The records may include data that pertain to fines that maybe implemented and charged to owner/operators of electric vehicles thatare parked within charging bays of each particular charging station 112without an active connection with the charging port 202. In someembodiments, some charging stations 112 may selectively implement theparking citations based on one or more factors that may include, demandresponse signals, high demand timeframe, low demand timeframe, queuelength, weather conditions, and the like. Accordingly, the stationdatabase 414 may be accessed by the smart lock application 116 todetermine if one or more charging stations 112 are implementing theparking citations in real-time as the EV 102 is located within apredetermined distance of the charging station(s) 112 or is located atone of the charging station(s) 112. The smart lock application 116 maythereby present one or more user interfaces to the owner/operator of theEV 102 notifying the owner/operator of the real-time implementation ofthe parking citations by the charging station(s) 112. This functionalitymay allow the owner/operator of the EV 102 to make an informeddetermination to utilize or not utilize the particular chargingstation(s) 112 to recharge the battery 106 of the EV 102.

In an exemplary embodiment, the data store 308 may additionally store acitation database 416. The citation database 416 may be configured as arelational database that includes records that are associated withidentification numbers (e.g., VIN) of electric vehicles that may eachutilize a respective charging station 112. The citation database 416 mayfurther include user credentials that may be associated with theowners/operators of electric vehicles that may utilize each respectivecharging station 112. In one configuration, if a particular chargingstation 112 issues a parking citation to a particular electric vehiclesuch as the EV 102, the charging station 112 may be configured tocommunicate data pertaining to the particular parking citation throughthe network 110 to the remote server 108. Accordingly, data associatedwith the particular parking citation, the particular charging bay of theEV 102, the particular fine associated with the parking citation, andthe like may be updated upon the citation database 416 stored upon thedata store 408 of the remote server architecture 400.

In some embodiments, upon determining that the EV 102 is located withina predetermined location of a charging station(s) 112 or is located at acharging station(s) 112, the smart lock application 116 may beconfigured to access and evaluate the citation database 416 to determineif the EV 102 had previously been accessed one or more parking citationsby the charging station(s) 112. If it is determined that the EV 102 hadpreviously been accessed one or more parking citations by the chargingstation(s) 112, the smart lock application 116 may be configured topresent one or more user interfaces to the owner/operator of the EV 102notifying the owner/operator of the previously accessed parkingcitation(s), past paid fine(s), and/or past un-paid fine(s) that may beassociated with the charging station(s) 112. This functionality mayallow the owner/operator of the EV 102 to make an informed determinationto utilize or not utilize the particular charging station(s) 112 torecharge the battery 106 of the EV 102.

In one or more embodiments, the data store 408 may also store anauthorized user database 418. The authorized user database 418 may beconfigured as a relational database that stores records that areassociated with authorized users that are authorized to attach andremove the charging port 202 to and from particular electric vehicles.In particular, the authorized user database 418 may include respectiverecords that includes user credentials associated with theowner/operators of respective electric vehicles that may utilize thecharging station(s) 112 at one or more points in time. As discussedabove, the user credentials may be utilized to enable locking orunlocking of the locking mechanism 206 of the charging port 202 based onthe determination that an authorized user is both locking and unlockingthe charging port 202. In an additional embodiment, each record of theauthorized user database 418 may be populated with image data that maybe received from the camera 122 of the EVSE 114. As discussed above, theimage data may be compared to image data of a subsequently capturedimage of an individual who is attempting to remove the charging port 202from the EV 102 to determine that the individual is the authorized userthat is authorized to attach and remove the charging port 202 to andfrom the EV 102.

In some configurations, each of the records of the authorized userdatabase 418 may additionally include payment information (e.g., creditcard information), driver's license information (e.g., driver's licensenumber), automobile club information, and/or charging station membershipinformation that may be utilized by the smart lock application 116 todetermine that an authorized user is both locking and unlocking thecharging port 202. Such a determination may allow the application 116 toallow the locking mechanism 206 to be disabled upon determining that anauthorized user is attempting to unlock and remove the charging port 202from the EV 102.

In one configuration, the communication interface 410 of the remoteserver architecture 400 may provide software, firmware and/or hardwareto facilitate data input and output between the components of thecomputing device 402 and other components, networks and data sources. Insome embodiments, the communication interface 410 may be used tocommunicate with the EV 102, the charging station(s) 112, the portabledevice 322, additional electric vehicles 120, and/or other components ofsystem 100 and architecture 400.

II. The Smart Lock Charge Application and Related Methods

The smart lock application 116 and its components will now be discussedin more detail according to an exemplary embodiment and with continuedreference to FIGS. 1-4. In one or more embodiments, the smart lockapplication 116 may be executed by the vehicle computing device 302 ofthe EV 102 and/or the computing device 402 of the remote server 108. Inan alternate embodiment, the smart lock application 116 may be executedby a processor (not shown) of the portable device 222 that may be usedby the operator of the EV 102.

In one or more configurations, data may be sent or received from thesmart lock application 116 to the components of the EV 102, the remoteserver 108, the charging station(s) 112, the EVSE 114, the charging port202, the locking mechanism 206, the portable device 222, and/or theadditional electric vehicles 120. For example, commands from the smartlock application 116 may be sent to the EVSE 114, the charging port 202,and/or the locking mechanism 206 of the charging port to enable lockingof the charging port 202 to lock the charging port 202 to the charginginlet 204 of the EV 102 and/or disable locking of the charging port 202to unlock the charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204.

In an exemplary embodiment, the smart lock application 116 may includeone or more user input interfaces and/or input means (e.g., buttons)that may be presented via the display 318, presented via the portabledevice 322, and or included within the EV 102 and/or on the portabledevice 322. In one embodiment, the one or more user input interfacesand/or input means may include user interface inputs that may beutilized by the owner/operator of the EV 102 to enable or disable thepresentation of one or more user interface notifications that may bepresented by the smart lock application 116. Additionally, the one ormore user input interfaces and/or input means may include user interfaceinputs that may be utilized by the owner/operator of the EV 102 toenable or disable one or more functions such as enablement ordisablement of locking and/or utilization of user credentials, facialrecognition data, and/or image data provided by the smart lockapplication 116.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a plurality of modules 502-508 of thesmart lock application 116 that may execute computer-implementedinstructions for locking the charging port 202 to charge the EV 102according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In anexemplary embodiment, the plurality of modules 502-508 may include alocation determinant module 502, a citation determinant module 504, acharge lock module 506, and an alert presentation module 508. It isappreciated that the smart lock application 116 may include one or moreadditional modules and/or sub-modules that are included in lieu of themodules 502-508.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram of a method 600 for locking andunlocking the charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204 of the EV102 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG.6 will be described with reference to the components of FIG. 1-FIG. 5,though it is to be appreciated that the method 600 of FIG. 6 may be usedwith additional and/or alternative system components. It is appreciatedthat the method 600 of FIG. 6 may be executed by smart lock application116 during charging of the EV 102 and/or one or more additional electricvehicles 120. However, for purposes of simplicity, the method 600 willbe described with respect to charging of the EV 102.

The method 600 may begin at block 602, wherein the method 600 mayinclude determining that the EV 102 is located at a particular chargingstation 112. In an exemplary embodiment, the location determinant module502 of the smart lock application 116 may be configured to determine ifthe EV 102 is located within a predetermined distance of one or morecharging stations 112 and/or is located at a particular charging station112. The location determinant module 502 may be configured tocommunicate with the GPS 310 of the EV 102 to determine the currentgeo-location of the EV 102 at one or more points in time. In someembodiments, the location determinant module 502 may be configured tostore one or more geo-locations of the EV 102 as determined at one ormore points in time within the data store 308 of the vehicle computingdevice 302 of the EV 102 and/or the data store 408 of the computingdevice 402 of the remote server 108.

In one embodiment, upon receiving data pertaining to a currentgeo-location of the EV 102, the location determinant module 502 may beconfigured to determine geo-locations of one or more charging stations112 that may be located within the predetermined distance or at acurrent geo-location of the EV 102. In particular, the locationdeterminant module 502 may be configured to access and query the stationdatabase 414 to determine one or more charging stations 112 that may belocated within the predetermined distance (e.g., 5 miles) of the currentgeo-location of the EV 102 or may be located at a matching geo-location(e.g., current geo-location coordinates) of the EV 102. Upon determiningthe one or more charging stations 112 that may be located within thepredetermined distance of the current geo-location of the EV 102 ormatch the current geo-location of the EV 102, the location determinantmodule 502 may communicate data pertaining to the charging station(s)112 to the citation determinant module 504 of the smart lock application116.

With continued reference to the method 600, the method 600 may proceedto block 604, wherein the method 600 may include determining that thecharging port 202 is attached to the EV 102. In one embodiment, uponreceiving the communication regarding the determination that the EV 102is located within a predetermined distance of the charging station(s)112 or that the EV 102 is located at a particular charging station 112,the citation determinant module 504 may be configured to communicatewith the vehicle computing device 302 of the EV 102 to determine ifthere is a connection between the charging port 202 of the EVSE 114 andthe charging inlet 204 of the EV 102 to output charging power to thebattery 106 of the EV 102.

In particular, the charging inlet 204 may include one or more sensors(e.g., pressure sensors) (not shown) that may be configured to sense theattachment of the charging port 202 to charge the battery 106 of the EV102. The one or more sensors may also be configured to sense thedetachment of the charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204. In oneconfiguration, the one or more sensors may also be configured to senseone or more movements that may indicate that an individual is attemptingto detach the charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204. In otherwords, the one or more sensors of the charging port 202 may beconfigured to sense movement of the charging port 202 with respect tothe charging inlet 204 which may indicate that someone is attempting todecouple the charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204 to remove thecharging port 202 from the EV 102.

In one embodiment, upon sensing the attachment of the charging port 202,the charging inlet 204 may communicate respective data to the vehiclecomputing device 302. Accordingly, the vehicle computing device 302 maybe configured to communicate data pertaining to the attachment of thecharging port 202 to the citation determinant module 504. In analternate embodiment, upon receiving the communication regarding thedetermination that the EV 102 is located within a predetermined distanceof the charging station(s) 112 or that the EV 102 is located at aparticular charging station 112, the citation determinant module 504 maybe configured to communicate with the EVSE 114 directly to determine ifthere is a connection between the charging port 202 of the EVSE 114 andthe charging inlet 204 of the EV 102 to output charging power to thebattery 106 of the EV 102.

In particular, the charging port 202 may include one or more sensors(e.g., pressure sensors) (not shown) that may be configured to sense theattachment to the charging inlet 204 of the EV 102 to charge the battery106 of the EV 102. The one or more sensors may also be configured tosense a detachment of the charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204.Additionally, the one or more sensors of the charging port 202 may beconfigured to sense movement of the charging port 202 that may indicatethat someone is attempting to decouple the charging port 202 from thecharging inlet 204 to remove the charging port 202 from the EV 102. Inone embodiment, upon the one or more sensors, sensing the attachment ofthe charging port 202 to the charging inlet 204, the EVSE 114 mayreceive sensor data from the charging port 202 indicating the attachmentto the EV 102. Accordingly, the EVSE 114 may be configured tocommunicate data pertaining to the attachment of the charging port 202to the citation determinant module 504.

With continued reference to the method 600, the method 600 may proceedto block 606, wherein the method 600 may include enabling locking of thecharging port 202. In an exemplary embodiment, upon determiningattachment of the charging port 202 to the EV 102, the citationdeterminant module 504 may communicate data pertaining to the attachmentof the charging port 202 to the charge lock module 506 of the smart lockapplication 116. In an exemplary embodiment, the charge lock module 506may be configured to selectively enable the locking mechanism 206 of thecharging port 202 to securely lock the charging port 202 into place toavoid decoupling between the charging port 202 and the charging inlet204 of the EV 102. In particular, the charge lock module 506 may beconfigured to communicate a locking command to the EVSE 114 to enablethe locking mechanism 206 to securely lock the charging port 202 withinthe charging inlet 204, thereby locking the charging port 202 to the EV102.

In one embodiment, the charge lock module 506 may send a command to theEVSE 114 to operably control the user input keypad 210 (e.g., keypad anddisplay) to present a prompt to the owner/operator of the EV 102 toinput user credentials (e.g., a user input name/pin/password) that maybe utilized to authenticate the respective owner/operator as anauthorized user. Upon receiving a user input of the user credentials,the charge lock module 506 may be configured to enable the lockingmechanism 206 to securely lock the charging port 202 within the charginginlet 204, thereby locking the charging port 202 to the EV 102.

In another embodiment, the charge lock module 506 may communicate withthe EVSE 114 to receive image data associated with images captured bythe camera 122 of the EVSE 114. In one embodiment, the camera 122 may beconfigured to capture images of the owner/operator of the EV 102 as theybegin to utilize the EVSE 114. In particular, the owner/operator of theEV 102 may be prompted to allow the camera 122 to capture a facial imageof the owner/operator in order to recognize the owner/operator as anauthorized user of the EV 102. In one embodiment, upon capturing afacial image of the owner/operator, the charge lock module 506 may beconfigured to enable the locking mechanism 206 to securely lock thecharging port 202 to the EV 102. Upon locking the charging port 202 tothe EV 102, the charge lock module 506 may communicate respective datato the citation determinant module.

With continued reference to the method 600, the method 600 may proceedto block 608, wherein the method 600 may include determining if thecharging station 112 issues parking citations. In an exemplaryembodiment, upon determining that the charging port 202 is attached tothe EV 102 and the locking mechanism 206 has been enabled to lock thecharging port 202 to the EV 102, the citation determinant module 504 maybe configured to access and query the station database 414 to determineand/or confirm the charging station 112 at which the EV 102 is receivingcharging power from the EVSE 114 based on the current geo-location ofthe EV 102. Upon determining and/or confirming the particular chargingstation 112 at which the EV 102 is being charged, the citationdeterminant module 504 may be configured to communicate with thecharging station 112 (e.g., through the EVSE 114) to receive thecharging station identification designation associated with theparticular charging station 112 that is being utilized to charge the EV102.

In one embodiment, upon receiving the charging station identificationdesignation associated with the particular charging station 112, thecitation determinant module 504 may be configured to access the stationdatabase 414. As discussed above, each of the records of the stationdatabase 414 that pertain to particular charging stations 112 mayinclude charging station identification designations that are associatedwith the respective charging stations 112. In one configuration, uponaccessing the station database 414, the citation determinant module 504may be configured to query the station database 414 based on thecharging station identification designation of the charging station 112being utilized to charge the EV 102. The citation determinant module 504may thereby retrieve the record pertaining to the charging station 112that is being utilized to charge the EV 102.

In one configuration, in the case that the charging station 112 issuesparking citations, the record pertaining to the charging station 112 mayalso include data that pertains to parking citations that may beaccessed by the charging station 112. Such data may indicate fines thatmay be implemented and charged to owner/operators of electric vehiclesthat are parked within charging bays of the particular charging station112 without an active connection with the charging port 202.Accordingly, if the record pertaining to the particular charging stationbeing utilized by the EV 102 includes data that pertains to parkingcitations that may be issued by the charging station 112, the citationdeterminant module 504 may thereby determine that the charging stationissues parking citations.

In an additional embodiment, the citation determinant module 504 maydetermine that the charging station 112 issues parking citations basedon image data that may be provided by the camera system 312 of the EV102. As discussed above, the one or more cameras may be configured tocapture images of one or more portions of the charging station(s) 112,and specifically, the charging bay and/or the EVSE 114 that is beingutilized to charge the battery 106 of the EV 102. In one embodiment, thecitation determinant module 504 may be configured to communicate withthe camera system 312 to receive image data associated with one or moreportions of the charging station 112.

In an exemplary embodiment, upon receipt of the image data, the citationdeterminant module 504 may be configured to execute image logic todetermine if any signage is captured that may indicate that the chargingstation 112 that is being utilized by the EV 102 may access a parkingcitation for vehicles that are parked without an active connection toEVSE 114. Accordingly, if the charging station(s) 112 include anysignage that indicates that parking citations may be accessed tovehicles that are not being actively connected to the EVSE 114, thecitation determinant module 504 may be configured to analyze image dataassociated with image(s) of the signage at the charging station(s) 112to determine that the charging station 112 issues parking citationsassociated with parking of vehicles without an active connection betweenthe charging port 202 and the EV 102.

In some embodiments, if the citation determinant module 504 determinesthat the charging station 112 issues parking citations, the citationdeterminant module 504 may communicate respective data to the alertpresentation module 508 of the smart lock application 116. The alertpresentation module 508 may be configured to communicate with thevehicle computing device 302, the portable device 322 and/or the EVSE114 to present one or more user interfaces to the owner/operator of theEV 102 notifying the owner/operator of the real-time implementation ofthe parking citations by the charging station(s) 112. This functionalitymay allow the owner/operator of the EV 102 to make an informeddetermination to continue to utilize or not utilize the charging station112 to charge the battery 106 of the EV 102.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, if it is determined that thecharging station 112 does not issue parking citations (at block 608),the method 600 may proceed to block 610, wherein the method 600 mayinclude unlocking the charging port 202 upon user input or when the EV102 is fully charged. In an exemplary embodiment, the charge lock module506 may communicate with the charging port 202 and/or the EVSE 114 todetermine if the one or more sensors of the charging inlet 204 and/orthe charging port 202 sense movement of the charging port 202 withrespect to the charging inlet 204 which may indicate that someone isattempting to decouple the charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204to remove the charging port 202 from the EV 102. Additionally, oralternatively, the charge lock module 506 may communicate with thevehicle computing device 302 of the EV 102 to determine when the battery106 of the EV 102 has reached a full state of charge.

In one embodiment, if the charge lock module 506 determines that someoneis attempting to remove the charging port 202 from the EV 102 and/or thebattery 106 of the EV 102 has reached a full state of charge (i.e., theEV is fully charged), the charge lock module 506 may send an unlockcommand to the EVSE 114. Upon receipt of the unlock command, the EVSE114 may be configured to disable the locking mechanism 206 to unlock thecharging port 202 from the charging inlet 204 to allow removal of thecharging port 202 from the charging inlet 204 of the EV 102.

Referring again to block 608 of the method 600, if it is determined thatthe charging station 112 issues parking citations, the method 600 mayproceed to block 612, wherein the method 600 may include determiningthat an unauthorized individual attempts to disconnect the charging port202. In an exemplary embodiment, upon determining that the chargingstation 112 issues parking citations, the citation determinant module504 may be configured to communicate respective data to the charge lockmodule 506. The charge lock module 506 may be configured to therebycommunicate with the EVSE 114 and/or the vehicle computing device 302 todetermine if the one or more sensors of the charging port 202 and/or thecharging inlet 204 sense movement of the charging port 202 with respectto the charging inlet 204 which may indicate that someone is attemptingto decouple the charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204 to removethe charging port 202 from the EV 102.

If someone attempts to remove the charging port 202 from the charginginlet 204 of the EV 102, the one or more sensors may communicaterespective data to the charge lock module 506. In one embodiment, thecharge lock module 506 may thereby communicate with the vehiclecomputing device 302, the portable device 322, the EVSE 114, and/or thecharging port 202 to present a notification prompt that may prompt theindividual who is attempting to remove the charging port 202 to inputuser credentials (e.g., a user input name/pin/password) that may beutilized to authenticate the respective owner/operator as an authorizeduser. As discussed above, in one embodiment, the charge lock module 506may prompt the owner/operator of the EV 102 to input user credentials tooperably control the locking mechanism 206 to lock the charging port 202to the EV 102. In one configuration, upon prompting the individual whois attempting to remove the charging port 202 to input user credentials,the charge lock module 506 may be configured to determine if usercredentials associated with the owner/operator of the EV 102 have beenreceived within a predetermined period of time (e.g. 3 minutes). If thecharge lock module 506 determines that the user credentials associatedwith the owner/operator of the EV 102 have not been received within thepredetermined period of time, the charge lock module 506 may therebydetermine that an authorized user attempts to disconnect the chargingport 202 from the EV 102.

In an alternate embodiment, the one or more sensors may communicate datato the charge lock module 506 pertaining to someone attempting to removethe charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204 of the EV 102, thecharge lock module 506 may communicate data to the EVSE 114 to promptthe individual attempting to remove the charging port 202 to capture afacial image of the individual in order to determine if the individualis the owner/operator of the EV 102 and is authorized to disconnect thecharging port 202 from the EV 102.

In one embodiment, if the individual allows the camera 122 to capture animage of the individual, image data may be communicated by the EVSE 114to the charge lock module 506. The charge lock module 506 may beconfigured to compare the image data from the facial image associatedwith the owner/operator of the EV 102 (previously captured, as discussedabove at block 606) with the facial image of the individual using facialrecognition logic to authenticate the owner/operator as an authorizeduser. If the individual does not allow the camera 122 to capture theimage of the individual or there is not a match found between the facialimage associated with the owner/operator of the EV 102 (captured atblock 606) and the facial image of the individual attempting to removethe charging port 202, the charge lock module 506 may determine that theunauthorized individual attempts to disconnect the charging port 202from the EV 102.

Referring again to block 612, if it is determined that an unauthorizedindividual attempts to disconnect the charging port 202, the method 600may proceed to block 614, wherein the method 600 may include notifyingthe owner/operator of the EV 102. In an exemplary embodiment, upondetermining that an unauthorized individual attempts to disconnect thecharging port 202, the charge lock module 506 may communicate respectivedata to the alert presentation module 508 of the smart lock application116. In one or more embodiments, the alert presentation module 508 maybe configured to communicate with the vehicle computing device 302and/or the portable device 322 to present one or more user interfacesthat present a notification alert to the owner/operator of the EV 102that an unauthorized individual is attempting to disconnect the chargingport 202 of the EVSE 114 from the EV 102. Accordingly, if theowner/operator is not located near the EV 102, the owner/operator may beable to determine if they should physically return to the EV 102 tocheck on the charging status associated with the state of charge of thebattery 106 of the EV 102.

In some embodiments, the alert presentation module 508 may be configuredto communicate with the vehicle computing device 302 to determine thecurrent state of charge of the battery 106 of the EV 102. The alertpresentation module 508 may be configured to include the current stateof charge of the battery 106 of the EV 102 as part of the one or moreuser interfaces that may notify the owner/operator of the EV 102 that anunauthorized individual is attempting to disconnect the charging port202 of the EVSE from the EV 102. Accordingly, the owner/operator of theEV 102 may be able to determine a charging status of the battery 106 ofthe EV 102 without having to physically return to the EV 102.

Referring again to block 612 of the method 600, if it is determined thatthe unauthorized individual does not attempt to disconnect the chargingport, the method 600 may proceed to block 616, wherein the method 600may include unlocking the charging port 202 from the charging inlet 204of the EV 102. In an exemplary embodiment, based on receiving usercredentials that match the user credentials of the owner/operator of theEV 102 based on user input of the user credentials to the user inputkeypad 210 (as discussed above at block 612) or determining that thereis a match found between the facial image associated with theowner/operator of the EV 102 (captured at block 606) and the facialimage of the individual attempting to remove the charging port 202(captured at block 612), the charge lock module 506 may determine thatthe owner/operator is attempting to disconnect the charging port 202from the EV 102.

In an exemplary embodiment, the charge lock module 506 may communicatewith the EVSE 114 to disable the locking mechanism 206 of the chargingport 202 to unlock the charging port 202 from the EV 102. Accordingly,the charging port 202 may be decoupled from the charging inlet 204 ofthe EV 102. The owner/operator may thereby avoid receiving any parkingcitations that may be provided by the charging station 112 to theowner/operator of EV 102 since the EV 102 is not parked within thecharging bay without an active connection between the EV 102 and thecharging port 202 of the EVSE 114.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram of a method 700 for locking a chargingport 202 to charge the EV 102 according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 7 will be described with reference to thecomponents of FIG. 1-FIG. 5, though it is to be appreciated that themethod 700 of FIG. 7 may be used with additional and/or alternativesystem components. The method 700 may begin at block 702, wherein themethod 700 may include determining that the EV 102 is located within apredetermined distance of a charging station 112.

The method 700 may proceed to block 704, wherein the method 700 maydetermining when the charging port 202 of an EVSE 114 of the chargingstation 112 is attached to the EV 102 to actively charge the EV 102. Themethod 700 may proceed to block 706, wherein the method 700 may includedetermining if the charging station 112 accesses a parking citationassociated with parking of the EV 102 if the EV 102 is not attached tothe charging port 202. The method 700 may proceed to block 708, whereinthe method 700 may include locking the charging port 202 to the EV 102to disallow decoupling of the charging port 202 from the EV 102 by anunauthorized individual to avoid the parking citation.

It should be apparent from the foregoing description that variousexemplary embodiments of the application may be implemented in hardware.Furthermore, various exemplary embodiments may be implemented asinstructions stored on a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium,such as a volatile or non-volatile memory, which may be read andexecuted by at least one processor to perform the operations describedin detail herein. A machine-readable storage medium may include anymechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine, suchas a personal or laptop computer, a server, or other computing device.Thus, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium excludestransitory signals but may include both volatile and non-volatilememories, including but not limited to read-only memory (ROM),random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storagemedia, flash-memory devices, and similar storage media.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any blockdiagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitryembodying the principles of the application. Similarly, it will beappreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transitiondiagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes whichmay be substantially represented in machine readable media and soexecuted by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer orprocessor is explicitly shown.

It will be appreciated that various implementations of theabove-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives orvarieties thereof, may be desirably combined into many other differentsystems or applications. Also, that various presently unforeseen orunanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvementstherein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which arealso intended to be encompassed by the following claims.

1. A computer-implemented method for locking a charging port to chargean electric vehicle, comprising: determining that the electric vehicleis located within a predetermined distance of a charging station;determining that the charging station issues parking citationsassociated with parking of the electric vehicle at the charging stationwithout attachment of the charging port to the electric vehicle;determining charging of the electric vehicle and sending a command to anelectric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) of the charging station toenable a locking mechanism of the charging port to lock the chargingport in place to ensure continued attachment of the charging port to theelectric vehicle; and completing user authentication with respect to anoperator of the electric vehicle to disable the locking mechanism andallow detachment of the charging port from the electric vehicle toensure that the charging port is not detached by an unauthorizedindividual and that parking citations are not issued to the operator ofthe electric vehicle by the charging station.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that theelectric vehicle is located within the predetermined distance includesdetermining a current geo-location of the electric vehicle and comparingthe current geo-location of the electric vehicle to a plurality ofstored geo-locations of a plurality of charging stations, wherein amatch between the current geo-location of the electric vehicle and ageo-location of the charging station is determined.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that thecharging station issues parking citations includes communicating with acamera system of the electric vehicle to receive image data associatedwith at least one image of the charging station and analyzing the imagedata to determine if any signage is captured that indicates that thecharging station issues the parking citations.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining that thecharging station issues parking citations includes querying a citationdatabase that includes a record that is associated with the chargingstation and analyzing the record to determine if the charging stationissues the parking citations.
 5. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein sending the command to the EVSE includes determiningwhen the charging port is attached to the electric vehicle to activelycharge the electric vehicle based on a communication with a vehiclecomputing device of the electric vehicle, wherein it is determined if atleast one sensor of a charging inlet of the electric vehicle sensesattachment of the charging port to the charging inlet to charge abattery of the electric vehicle based on the communication.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein sending the command tothe EVSE includes enabling a locking mechanism of the charging port tosecurely lock the charging port into the charging inlet of the electricvehicle to avoid decoupling between the charging port and the charginginlet.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further includingprompting an individual who is attempting to decouple the charging portfrom the charging inlet of the electric vehicle to input usercredentials that are used to authenticate the individual as the operatorof the electric vehicle.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7,further including comparing the user credentials inputted by theindividual to the user credentials previously inputted by the operatorof the electric vehicle to determine if the operator or the unauthorizedindividual attempts to disconnect the charging port.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein completing userauthentication with respect to the operator of the electric vehicleincludes using at least one of: user credentials, facial image, paymentinformation, and driver license information to authenticate the operatorof the electric vehicle to unlock and detach the charging port from thecharging inlet of the electric vehicle.
 10. A system for locking acharging port to charge an electric vehicle, comprising: a memorystoring instructions when executed by a processor cause the processorto: determine that the electric vehicle is located within apredetermined distance of a charging station; determine that thecharging station issues parking citations associated with parking of theelectric vehicle at the charging station without attachment of thecharging port to the electric vehicle; determine charging of theelectric vehicle and send a command to an electric vehicle supplyequipment (EVSE) of the charging station to enable a locking mechanismof the charging port to lock the charging port in place to ensurecontinued attachment of the charging port to the electric vehicle; andcomplete user authentication with respect to an operator of the electricvehicle to disable the locking mechanism and allow detachment of thecharging port from the electric vehicle to ensure that the charging portis not detached by an unauthorized individual and that parking citationsare not issued to the operator of the electric vehicle by the chargingstation.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein determining that theelectric vehicle is located within the predetermined distance includesdetermining a current geo-location of the electric vehicle and comparingthe current geo-location of the electric vehicle to a plurality ofstored geo-locations of a plurality of charging stations, wherein amatch between the current geo-location of the electric vehicle and ageo-location of the charging station is determined.
 12. The system ofclaim 10, wherein determining that the charging station issues parkingcitations includes communicating with a camera system of the electricvehicle to receive image data associated with at least one image of thecharging station and analyzing the image data to determine if anysignage is captured that indicates that the charging station issues theparking citations.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein determining thatthe charging station issues parking citations includes querying acitation database that includes a record that is associated with thecharging station and analyzing the record to determine if the chargingstation issues the parking citations.
 14. The system of claim 10,wherein sending the command to the EVSE includes determining when thecharging port is attached to the electric vehicle to actively charge theelectric vehicle based on a communication with a vehicle computingdevice of the electric vehicle, wherein it is determined if at least onesensor of a charging inlet of the electric vehicle senses attachment ofthe charging port to the charging inlet to charge a battery of theelectric vehicle based on the communication.
 15. The system of claim 14,wherein sending the command to the EVSE includes enabling a lockingmechanism of the charging port to securely lock the charging port intothe charging inlet of the electric vehicle to avoid decoupling betweenthe charging port and the charging inlet.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the instructions cause the processor to prompt an individual whois attempting to decouple the charging port from the charging inlet ofthe electric vehicle to input user credentials that are used toauthenticate the individual as the operator of the electric vehicle. 17.The system of claim 16, wherein the instructions cause the processor tocompare the user credentials inputted by the individual to the usercredentials previously inputted by the operator of the electric vehicleto determine if the operator or the unauthorized individual attempts todisconnect the charging port.
 18. The system of claim 17, whereincompleting user authentication with respect to the operator of theelectric vehicle includes using at least one of: user credentials,facial image, payment information, and driver license information toauthenticate the operator of the electric vehicle to unlock and detachthe charging port from the charging inlet of the electric vehicle.
 19. Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructionsthat when executed by a computer, which includes a processor perform amethod, the method comprising: determining that an electric vehicle islocated within a predetermined distance of a charging station;determining that the charging station issues parking citationsassociated with parking of the electric vehicle at the charging stationwithout attachment of a charging port to the electric vehicle;determining charging of the electric vehicle and sending a command to anelectric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) of the charging station toenable a locking mechanism of the charging port to lock the chargingport in place to ensure continued attachment of the charging port to theelectric vehicle; and completing user authentication with respect to anoperator of the electric vehicle to disable the locking mechanism andallow detachment of the charging port from the electric vehicle toensure that the charging port is not detached by an unauthorizedindividual and that parking citations are not issued to the operator ofthe electric vehicle by the charging station.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein determining thatthe charging station issues parking citations includes querying acitation database that includes a record that is associated with thecharging station and analyzing the record to determine if the chargingstation issues the parking citations.